The present invention relates to a tag comprising a shackle which projects on the face of a flat housing and is molded to a sliding part which is displaceable from an open into a locked position arranged in the housing, in the locked position, the housing closing the shackle opening.
Tags of this type are used, for example, as key tags, as price tags, brand name tags, address tags, etc. on pieces of clothing, suitcases, briefcases, bags, umbrellas, sports articles, cameras, shoes, etc., the housing, in each case, as the information carrier, being provided with marking information, identification information or the like, which is glued, printed, embossed or engraved on the surfaces of the housing.
Thus, for example, from Swiss Patent Document CH 650 349, a tag of this type is known which can be produced easily and inexpensively and is constructed of a few parts. The locking shackle of this tag is simultaneously constructed as a sliding part which can be displaced in the tag housing and has latching elements which can resiliently lock in corresponding recesses of the tag housing. The locking shackle itself can be bent out in the open position, for example, for receiving keys or the like. In the closed position, it forms a closed eye together with the face of the tag housing, in which eye, for example, the key remains in a securely held manner. The closing position can be released from the outside by pressure onto the latching element against the locking direction, for which an opening is provided in the tag housing which is correspondingly accessible from the outside.
For certain fields of application, after a one-time closing, it should not be possible to open these tags again without destroying them. A tag of the above-mentioned type is suitable only to a limited extent because it can be unlocked from the outside in its originally provided form. A simple covering of the unlocking cover is also no reliable protection against an attempt to open the tag which subsequently can hardly or at least not unambiguously be noticed.
It was an object of the present invention to provide a tag of the above-mentioned type which has a simple construction and a simple operability for a one-time closure which, after the closing operation, can no longer be opened without being destroyed, in which case an attempt to open can clearly be determined.
According to the invention, this object is achieved by means of a tag of the above-noted type, characterized in that a locking element is arranged in the housing, which locking element, in the open and in the locked position, being resiliently clickable into the sliding part, the locking element being stopped in the direction of the shackle on a retaining cam projecting from a housing wall, in the transition area from the housing wall to the holding cam at least one area of the housing wall being constructed as a desired breaking point. The solution according to the invention is distinguished particularly by the simple construction and easy operability, while the locking is reliable. After the tag has been locked once, it can no longer be opened without being destroyed. The further development of the tag according to the invention has the special advantage that also an attempt to open the tag is clearly and in an irreversible manner indicated by the broken-open desired breaking point. As a result, manipulations on the tag can be detected without its complete destruction.
In this case, the construction is particularly advantageous in which the slide as well as the shackle in the locked condition are gripped by the locking element or clicked into it. The desired breaking point is preferably formed in a very simple manner by a reduction of the wall thickness in this area of the housing.
Preferably, a tag according to the invention is used as a safety lock or a safety seal.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.